Nov. 19, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response a Mayer Brown law firm synopsis of the October meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in Dublin where topics discussed included “the scope of ICANN’s ability to regulate online content”:

“The U.S. government contract with ICANN to administer the domain name system has not even lapsed yet, and already, ICANN is openly discussing the scope of its ability to regulate online content. ICANN will be the world’s only hub for linking easy-to-remember domain names to IP addresses. The only legal constraint that stops them from censoring content is the First Amendment protections associated with fulfilling a U.S. government contract. Remove the contract, and cede the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions, as the Obama administration intends, and those protections are void.

“That is not alarmism, that is cause for alarm. Congress must continue the appropriations rider authored by Rep. Sean Duffy denying funds to the Commerce Department to transition this authority to a private entity such as ICANN. Anything else is leaving it up to chance, and eventually, China, Russia, or who knows overseas to eventually capture this function. This will be an unregulated global monopoly as opposed to a U.S. government vendor, and merely modifying ICANN’s mission statement will not be a legally binding mechanism to uphold the freedom of speech and of the press.

“While outgoing ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade said some of the right things at the meeting, other things that were mentioned such as a ‘voluntary framework to handle contractual obligations regarding content,’ with or without ‘teeth’ are troubling and just add more proof that the transition should not occur. ICANN clearly is under pressure to get into the business of policing content. Congress can just make this really easy for them and just say no to the transition — again.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

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Oct. 2, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to Congress continuing to defund the transition by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN):

“Congress took decisive action by again defunding the giveaway of U.S. oversight of the Internet domain name system in the continuing resolution. This is important because although the contract has been extended for up to a year, federal rules permit NTIA to unilaterally change the contract with ICANN without notifying Congress. Thanks to the defund, the Internet giveaway will be impossible for the next two months.

“This critical step will protect the First Amendment freedoms of speech and the press on the Internet from international meddling and potential censorship. We thank House and Senate leaders for recognizing the importance of this issue.

“This is a prime example of how Congress can utilize the power of the purse to reassert its Article One constitutional prerogatives, and maintain Congress’ primacy in setting fiscal policy. We encourage Congress to embrace a comprehensive defunding strategy to stop Obama’s regulatory onslaught.”

Attachments:

H.R.719

SEC. 101.(a) Such amounts as may be necessary, at a rate for operations as provided in the applicable appropriations Acts for fiscal year 2015 and under the authority and conditions provided in such Acts, for continuing projects or activities (including the costs of direct loans and loan guarantees) that are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Act, that were conducted in fiscal year 2015, and for which appropriations, funds, or other authority were made available in the following appropriations Acts:

(2) The Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015 (division B of Public Law 113-235).

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/719/text

Public Law 113-235

Sec. 540. (a) None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to relinquish the responsibility of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration during fiscal year 2015 with respect to Internet domain name system functions, including responsibility with respect to the authoritative root zone file and the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/83/text?overview=closed

“Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz agree, don’t give away the Internet,” Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning statement, Sept. 28, 2015 at https://getliberty.org/jeb-bush-and-ted-cruz-agree-dont-give-away-the-internet/

“Not Obama’s to Give Away,” By L. Gordon Crovitz, Sept. 27, 2015 at http://www.wsj.com/articles/not-obamas-to-give-away-1443386189

House and Senate Judiciary Committee Letter questions constitutionality of Internet giveaway, Sept. 22, 2015 at http://www.grassley.senate.gov/sites/default/files/judiciary/upload/2015-09-22%20CEG%20Cruz%20Goodlatte%20Issa%20to%20GAO%20%28Report%20on%20ICANN%20Oversight%20Transfer%29.pdf

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

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Sept. 28, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to a growing consensus among Republican presidential candidates, including Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz, against transitioning Department of Commerce oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN):

“When candidates as far apart on the conservative spectrum like Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush agree that U.S. oversight of the world’s Internet domain name system should be safeguarded, Congress needs to pay attention. The First Amendment freedoms of every person who uses the Internet is at stake once the U.S. government contract with ICANN expires. Although NTIA has extended that contract for up to a year, the agency is not legally bound to keep that timetable — that is unless Congress says so by defunding the transition for the entirety of Fiscal Year 2016.

“The concerns of presidential candidates become all the more important as key congressional leaders openly question the constitutionality of the transition without an affirmative Article IV vote of Congress to transfer government property.

“The only rational course is to extend the Internet giveaway defund for at least another year, because the protection of every American’s free speech rights on the Internet is simply too important.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

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Aug. 18, 2015, Fairfax, Va.–Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to the decision by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to delay for one year the transition of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions administering the domain name system to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and global multistakeholders:

“Rep. Sean Duffy and Sen. Ted Cruz’s work to stop the Internet giveaway have been instrumental in creating this delay. Unfortunately, some leaders in Congress have been posturing that they oppose giving away the Internet while actually supporting it.

“There is no ‘right’ way to create a global monopoly to administer the domain name system with ICANN at its center, with no competition or accountability, and perhaps most importantly, no First Amendment protections that the current U.S. contract by NTIA affords. No proposal presented thus far provides any judicial remedy in federal court should the domain name system ever be used to engage in censorship. Ceding the IANA functions is simply too dangerous in a world where not even the White House and Joint Chiefs of Staff are secure against hacks by Moscow and Beijing.

“We applaud the delay, and urge Congress to take this decision out of the Obama administration’s hands permanently. The last thing anyone should want is such a controversial decision that does not even serve U.S. interests or protect critical Internet freedoms coming in a lame duck administration. Better to leave this to the next president, whoever he or she may be.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

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June 25, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for offering an amendment to the Dotcom Act in the Senate Commerce Committee (final vote 5-19) that would have required congressional approval of any relinquishment of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) to the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN):

“Sen. Cruz has voted to affirm U.S. government oversight of the IANA functions that has guaranteed a free and open Internet for almost two decades. Sadly other members of the Senate Commerce Committee did not see it that way, and the Dotcom Act passed. Americans for Limited Government praises Sen. Cruz for voting to protect the Internet.

“It is alarming the speed with which members of both chambers of Congress are willing to cede U.S. sovereignty to an unaccountable private foundation that is now establishing a global monopoly over DNS resolution. Free of government oversight, there will no longer be any First Amendment protections for the Internet, guaranteeing the IANA functions will one day be used to engage in censorship. In the not so distant future, the Internet will not be so free and open. With his vote, Sen. Cruz tried to warn us, and Americans for Limited Government thanks him for his courage to stand up and protect the Internet from foreign powers.”

Attachments:

Sen. Ted Cruz statement before the Senate Commerce Committee, June 25, 2015 at http://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Hearings&ContentRecord_id=fc4ffe29-8386-43aa-835f-2703329209a5&ContentType_id=14f995b9-dfa5-407a-9d35-56cc7152a7ed&Group_id=81506421-e467-4ad2-906c-c415ff3467f4 :

“Mr. Chairman, I’d like to offer Cruz amendment 1. I want to commend the chairman and the authors of this bill. I think this is a good faith effort to begin to provide congressional oversight over this exceptionally important topic, which is namely the administration’s announced intention to hand over control of the Internet to a multinational, multiparty group. Everyone on this committee I think believes that the Internet is important for commerce, that it’s important for entrepreneurial freedom, that it’s important for the First Amendment. Unfortunately this [bill] provides congressional oversight but it sets the presumption that if Congress doesn’t act in 30 days, the administration can go forward with its stated intention. My amendment simply reverses that presumption and says that the contract has to maintain in place unless Congress acts. You know, there has been a persistent pattern for a number of years of Congress acquiescing and handing over our authority. The Constitution gives legal authority to this body and over and over again, members of this body have been willing to give away our constitutional authority. If it is a good idea constituent with U.S. national security interests, to hand over, to give away the Internet then Congress should debate that and approve it. If this bill is passed in its current form here’s a look into what will happen. The report will be submitted to Congress, 30 days will pass, Congress will do nothing, and then the Internet will be handed over. We should act affirmatively to protect the Internet. And I would not one of the many reasons for doing so is that under the explicit text of the Constitution, Article IV, Section 3 , the Constitution provides, ‘Congress shall have the power to dispose of … property belonging to the United States.’ It is only Congress, it is not the Assistant Secretary of Commerce, that has that authority, and under the text of the ICANN contract, it states, ‘All deliverables under this contract become the property of the U.S. Government,’ and the Constitution gives only this body, Congress, the authority, to dispose of property of the U.S. government. Mr. Chairman, one of the problems with the current draft is it will most assuredly be argued in court by the Justice Department when Commerce goes ahead with the giveaway of the Internet that this act has implicitly overridden the contract and authorized the giveaway of federal property. Namely that the opening sentence of this bill provides, ‘Until the date that is 30 legislative days after the submission to Congress of the report described in subsection (b), the Assistant Secretary may not permit the NTIA’s role in the performance of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions to terminate, lapse, be cancelled, or otherwise cease to be in effect.’ The Department of Justice lawyers will certainly argue that that implicitly authorizes doing exactly that, once 30 days have passed. I think the members on this committee will bear responsibility for the consequences of that.”

“Can Ted Cruz save the Internet?” By Robert Romano, June 24, 2015 at http://netrightdaily.com/2015/06/can-ted-cruz-save-the-internet/

Amendment to the Dotcom Act, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), June 24, 2015 at http://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Cruz-DOTCOM-Act-Amendment.pdf

Letter to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, June 24, 2015 at http://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/DotComActSenateCommerceLetter-6-24-15.pdf

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

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June 25, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement blasting the Senate Commerce Committee for rejecting by a 5-19 vote an amendment to the Dotcom Act by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that would have required Congressional approval of any relinquishment of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) to the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN):

“Once again, members of Congress are voting to surrender congressional authority to the Obama administration, without even an opportunity to see what they’re voting on. Nobody in Congress has seen ICANN’s proposal to commandeer Internet governance from the U.S. government, but the Senate Commerce committee has blindly just authorized whatever plan they might come up with. This is reckless. U.S. government oversight of the IANA functions has guaranteed a free and open Internet for almost two decades. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

“It is alarming the speed with which members of both chambers of Congress are willing to cede U.S. sovereignty to an unaccountable private foundation that is now establishing a global monopoly over DNS resolution. Free of government oversight, there will no longer be any First Amendment protections for the Internet, guaranteeing the IANA functions will one day be used to engage in censorship. In the not so distant future, the Internet will not be so free and open.”

Attachments:

Sen. Ted Cruz statement before the Senate Commerce Committee, June 25, 2015 at http://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Hearings&ContentRecord_id=fc4ffe29-8386-43aa-835f-2703329209a5&ContentType_id=14f995b9-dfa5-407a-9d35-56cc7152a7ed&Group_id=81506421-e467-4ad2-906c-c415ff3467f4 :

“Mr. Chairman, I’d like to offer Cruz amendment 1. I want to commend the chairman and the authors of this bill. I think this is a good faith effort to begin to provide congressional oversight over this exceptionally important topic, which is namely the administration’s announced intention to hand over control of the Internet to a multinational, multiparty group. Everyone on this committee I think believes that the Internet is important for commerce, that it’s important for entrepreneurial freedom, that it’s important for the First Amendment. Unfortunately this [bill] provides congressional oversight but it sets the presumption that if Congress doesn’t act in 30 days, the administration can go forward with its stated intention. My amendment simply reverses that presumption and says that the contract has to maintain in place unless Congress acts. You know, there has been a persistent pattern for a number of years of Congress acquiescing and handing over our authority. The Constitution gives legal authority to this body and over and over again, members of this body have been willing to give away our constitutional authority. If it is a good idea constituent with U.S. national security interests, to hand over, to give away the Internet then Congress should debate that and approve it. If this bill is passed in its current form here’s a look into what will happen. The report will be submitted to Congress, 30 days will pass, Congress will do nothing, and then the Internet will be handed over. We should act affirmatively to protect the Internet. And I would not one of the many reasons for doing so is that under the explicit text of the Constitution, Article IV, Section 3 , the Constitution provides, ‘Congress shall have the power to dispose of … property belonging to the United States.’ It is only Congress, it is not the Assistant Secretary of Commerce, that has that authority, and under the text of the ICANN contract, it states, ‘All deliverables under this contract become the property of the U.S. Government,’ and the Constitution gives only this body, Congress, the authority, to dispose of property of the U.S. government. Mr. Chairman, one of the problems with the current draft is it will most assuredly be argued in court by the Justice Department when Commerce goes ahead with the giveaway of the Internet that this act has implicitly overridden the contract and authorized the giveaway of federal property. Namely that the opening sentence of this bill provides, ‘Until the date that is 30 legislative days after the submission to Congress of the report described in subsection (b), the Assistant Secretary may not permit the NTIA’s role in the performance of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions to terminate, lapse, be cancelled, or otherwise cease to be in effect.’ The Department of Justice lawyers will certainly argue that that implicitly authorizes doing exactly that, once 30 days have passed. I think the members on this committee will bear responsibility for the consequences of that.”

“Can Ted Cruz save the Internet?” By Robert Romano, June 24, 2015 at http://netrightdaily.com/2015/06/can-ted-cruz-save-the-internet/

Amendment to the Dotcom Act, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), June 24, 2015 at http://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Cruz-DOTCOM-Act-Amendment.pdf

Letter to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, June 24, 2015 at http://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/DotComActSenateCommerceLetter-6-24-15.pdf

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

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June 23, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement blasting House passage of HR 805, the Dotcom Act:

“Just weeks after voting to defund the National Telecommunications and Information Administration from transitioning the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority to ICANN, the House has now voted to authorize it upon a meaningless report being submitted by the Obama administration. Americans for Limited Government urges the U.S. Senate to reject this legislation. There is simply no reason for Congress to grant power to Obama that will cede the First Amendment protections that U.S. government oversight of the Internet’s domain name system affords.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

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June 23, 2015, Fairfax, Va.–Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging opposition to HR 805, The Dotcom Act:

“We urge the House to stop the Dotcom Act, legislation which threatens to provide de facto authorization of Obama’s Internet transfer scheme.

“The House has wisely chosen on two separate occasions to oppose Obama’s Internet giveaway, by prohibiting it via the appropriations process. The Dotcom Act is at best superfluous and at worst enables the administration to give away the Internet in exchange for what amounts to a book report by NTIA.

“The contempt that the Commerce Department’s NTIA has for Congressional authority to approve or disapprove the transition has been demonstrated by the short shrift they gave in answering reporting requirements in the Cromnibus. NTIA was supposed to produce a contingency plan should the Internet giveaway prove to be deleterious to U.S. interests. Instead the agency merely assured Congress that it would not be, failing to meet the most rudimentary expectations under the required reporting.

“This contempt for Congress extends to the international multistakeholder community, where in Buenos Aires today, ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade has declared that the transition will now be complete by June 30, 2016, in spite of the fact that NTIA is currently prohibited under federal law from performing the transition, and the House just voted to extend that prohibition.

“It makes zero sense for Congress to undermine the power of the purse with weak legislation that will not stop the Internet giveaway. A vote to stop the Dotcom Act will allow full discussion of the ramifications of the Dotcom Act and hopefully suitable amendments to protect Congress’ power to approve or disapprove the transfer.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

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June 16, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement regarding the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s latest response to an Americans for Limited Government Freedom of Information Act request for “All records relating to legal and policy analysis developed by or provided to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) that support its decision to ‘transition key internet domain name functions,’ including any analysis showing whether the NTIA has the legal authority to perform the transition”:

“Americans for Limited Government asked the Commerce Department a simple question: What was the legal basis for relinquishing control of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions to ICANN? Now, more than a year later, it is clear based on the documents we have received that there was no such legal analysis performed prior to the announcement. Nor has the Department claimed any privileged exemption for such analysis under the Freedom of Information Act. And so, it is clear it doesn’t exist. What should have been a routine request has turned out to be a wild goose chase. The failure of NTIA to establish a firm legal basis for the IANA functions transfer underscores this administration’s complete disregard for congressional prerogatives to dispose of property under the Constitution.

“This failure by the Obama administration affirms Congress’ decision to defund the Internet transfer this fiscal year, and the House’s further action this month to do the same beyond September 30.”

Attachments:

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), March 27, 2014 at http://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/DOC-NTIA-FOIA-re-ICANN-03-27-14.pdf

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) interim response by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), June 30, 2014 at http://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/DOC-NTIA_FOIA-Responsive-Docs-Set1.pdf

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) further response by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, June 15, 2015 at http://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/DOC-NTIA_FOIA-Responsive-Docs-Set2.pdf

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

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June 4, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement noting the availability of the ICANN.sucks domain name on registry.sucks:

“The absurdity of ICANN’s decision to allow for a .sucks domain is highlighted by the availability of the ICANN.sucks domain, and reveals the extortion that can occur with whoever winds up controlling the world’s domain name system. You can purchase ICANN.sucks for a cool $245,000 at instra.com, and it is not even available yet to the general public. While the ICANN.sucks web domain name aptly describes ICANN itself. This is the exact kind of abuse would proliferate should President Obama succeed in transferring control and oversight over the domain name system, and will force defensive registrations at an exorbitant cost.

“While .sucks may have seemed like a cute idea, it really illustrates the importance of maintaining U.S. control over these functions. Hopefully, future, more responsible administrations will not allow the domain name system to be used as a weapon.”

Attachments:

ICANN.sucks is available at registry.sucks, June 4, 2015 at http://netrightdaily.com/2015/06/icann-sucks-is-available-at-registry-sucks/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703)383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

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